Image Comics is pleased to reveal a first look at the upcoming new series Bug Wars by bestselling writer Jason Aaron (Southern Bastards, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Absolute Superman) and artist Mahmud Asrar (Conan the Barbarian, X-Men, Batman vs Robin). This sneak peek into the savage, epic new series showcases the action-packed brutality in store for readers when they pick up the extra-length first issue hitting shelves in February from Image Comics.
The series was first announced at New York City Comic Con last year with a limited edition ashcan that whipped up early buzz with attendees at the show and landed it on IGN’s Most Anticipated Comics of 2025 list.
Bug Wars follows Slade Slaymaker, a kid from Alabama who is suddenly lost in a vicious world beyond his imagination. It is a world of marauding ant armies, spell-casting spider witches, and beetle-riding barbarians. A kingdom of tiny but deadly warriors hidden in his own backyard. The same world that saw his father eaten alive by insects and now plunges young Slade into the middle of a brutal Bug War to decide the fate of his family.
Bug Wars is where tiny warriors wage violent battles for dominance over an insect-driven kingdom all hidden beneath the grassline.
Bug Wars #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, February 12:
- Cover A by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson – Lunar Code 1224IM222
- Cover B by Peach Momoko – Lunar Code 1224IM223
- Cover C Blank Sketch – Lunar Code 1224IM224
- Cover D 1:25 copy incentive by Pepe Larraz & Matthew Wilson – Lunar Code 1224IM225
- Cover E 1:50 copy incentive by Matias Bergara – Lunar Code 1224IM226
- Cover F 1:100 copy incentive by Peach Momoko Virgin – Lunar Code 1224IM227
Bug Wars #2 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, March 19:
- Cover A by Mahmud A Asrar & Matthew Wilson – Lunar Code 0125IM334
- Cover B by Yanick Paquette & Matthew Wilson – Lunar Code 0125IM335
- Cover C 1:25 copy incentive by Tony Daniel & Marcelo Maiolo – Lunar Code 0125IM336
Bug Wars will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
ABOUT JASON AARON
Jason Aaron is an award-winning comic book writer best known for his work with Marvel Comics, including a landmark seven-year run on THOR that featured the headline-grabbing adventures of Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor and the 2015 STAR WARS series that was the best-selling American comic book in more than 20 years. Aaron is currently spearheading two of 2024’s hottest launches, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for IDW and Absolute Superman for DC Comics. His critically acclaimed creator-owned work includes the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning Southern Bastards from Image Comics and the New York Times bestselling crime series Scalped from DC, plus the recently released Once Upon A Time at the End of the World from BOOM! Studios. Aaron was born and raised in Alabama and currently resides in Kansas City.
ABOUT MAHMUD ASRAR
Mahmud Asrar grew up with a passion to draw comics which led to a degree in art, and he has since worked for major publishers like Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and beyond! At Marvel he became mostly known for being a veteran on the X-Men group of books, drawing several series over the years and winning a Dragon award for his work. He followed up with a run on Conan The Barbarian and King Conan with Jason Aaron, winning a Robert E. Howard Rankin award in the process. After recently completing the Batman vs Robin event series for DC he has continued to illustrate covers too many comics while embarking on an entomological epic on Bug Wars. Asrar resides in Vienna, Austria with his wife and son.